By Conrad Dudderar
Staff Writer
EL RENO – A detention officer was fired after an investigation found she had allegedly stolen $570 in cash from two inmates at the Canadian County Jail.
Moore’s Katie Denise Wade, 32, was charged Sept. 27 in Canadian County District Court with embezzlement of state property.
Assistant District Attorney Walter Mengden alleges Wade “received money to be placed in the inmate trust account, and knowingly made false entries in that account received on behalf of the county.”
Wade committed the crime between June 21 and July 30 “while acting in her capacity as a deputy for the Canadian County Sheriff’s Office,” according to the charging documents.
Embezzlement of state property is a felony crime punishable by one to 20 years in state prison and/or a $500 fine.
Canadian County Sheriff’s Sgt. Justin Brown conducted an internal investigation of missing/stolen money at the Canadian County Detention Center, 304 N Evans.
Cpl. Wade confessed to stealing $500 in cash at about 12:35 a.m. June 21 from an envelope created by another detention officer during the booking process of inmate Daniel Joseph Snyder, according to a probable cause affidavit signed by Sgt. Brown.
Wade also confessed to stealing $70 in cash at around 2:18 a.m. July 30 from inmate Shannon Edward Wooten’s personal property tote at the booking desk inside the county jail, the affidavit shows.
ASKS FOR ‘SECOND CHANCE’
During an interview with Sgt. Brown, Wade reportedly said she hadn’t spent the $570 and it was still in her bank account.
Wade returned all the stolen money and wrote an apology letter to the Canadian County Sheriff’s Office staff, according to the probable cause affidavit.
The text of the apology letter is included with the court filing.
In the letter, she wrote that she had “distrusted myself and the Sheriff’s Office” by taking “two amounts of money for the purpose of helping my kid better herself in cheerleading.”
Wade told fellow sheriff’s personnel that she loved her job at the jail, was willing to be demoted until she showed her “worth again” and asked for a “second chance” to “show this will never happen again!”, the document reads.
Wade was immediately fired after the sheriff’s office concluded its investigation and presented the criminal case to the Canadian County District Attorney’s Office, Undersheriff Kevin Ward said.
Canadian County Special Judge Charles Gass issued a warrant for Wade’s arrest, setting bond at $5,000.
The defendant was released from custody after posting the bond Sept. 27, according to court records.
